University at Buffalo to open shale research facility

Apr. 6, 2012

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BUFFALO -- New York's state university system has a new institute to study the effects of shale gas drilling.

But it won't call the Southern Tier its home.

The University at Buffalo on Thursday announced the formation of the Shale Resources and Society Institute, which will conduct research "that can help guide policymakers on issues relating to hydraulic fracturing and the development of energy resources," according to a news release.

"We're really trying to provide fact-based, objective information," energy consultant John P. Martin, who will co-direct the institute, said in a statement. "We're guided by science."

The institute will focus on four areas: fractures, fluids and migration; groundwater and surface environmental impacts; social impacts; and regulation. The institute will seek its funding from industry, individuals, and "agencies that support scientific research relating to energy," according to Thursday's announcement.

Although the Marcellus Shale reaches into the Buffalo area, the depth and thickness of the underground rock formation will likely preclude any economically viable drilling there.

Nevertheless, University at Buffalo spokesman John DellaContrada said the school's Department of Geology has "a history of extensive research in this area."

Leasing activity in recent years has been centered on the Southern Tier, where Binghamton University's Vestal campus lies not far from some of the most productive drilling rigs in Pennsylvania.

The schools in Binghamton and Buffalo are two of the four research universities within the SUNY system, along with the institutions in Stony Brook and Albany.

Questions surrounding the environmental and economic impacts of natural gas extraction through hydraulic fracturing have polarized much of upstate New York, but permits for high-volume hydrofracking remain on hold pending the state Department of Environmental Conservation's ongoing regulatory review.